First look: New bar Northside Yacht Club opens

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The front bar of the Northside Yacht Club at the corner of Spring Grove Avenue and Dane Avenue where owners Jon Weiner and Stuart Mackenzie prepared for their opening night on Friday.
Phil Didion for the Enquirer

High tide in Northside? The neighborhood's newest bar and grill, Northside Yacht Club, opened Friday night.

With a nautical theme inspired by the 1937 flood, it's located at 4227 Spring Grove Ave., in the former Mayday space.

Owners Jon Weiner and Stuart MacKenzie, both veterans of Wellmann's Brands bars, have completely remodeled the space, adding new floors and ceilings, a bar on the outdoor patio and a full-service kitchen.

Three large photo murals in the space show the 1937 flood, when the building that houses the bar (then the Northside Electric Company; hanging Edison bulbs in the bar recall that bit of history) had water up to its second level. Old photos show Northside residents boating around the neighborhood.

"It's a little nod to the Northside resilience and attitude," MacKenzie said.

Other nautical nods abound: 80 pounds of nautical rope hang in a weave pattern above the bar. An aquarium holds local river fish. A porthole salvaged from a ship is mounted in the bar.

The theme extends to the drinks, too. There's an emphasis on rum drinks, including tiki and beachy styles. The current specialty cocktail, for example, is a banana daiquiri. When the full drink menu is finalized, in the next few weeks, it will feature boilermakers (beer and shot pairings) and cocktails such as the Yachtsman: gin or vodka with grapefruit shrub, soda water and lime. There are rotating "dinghies," specialty shots, and 10 draft beers, including local options, from a new draft system.

From the kitchen, there's a full food menu from chef Ryan Whitcomb, who has worked at Nuvo, Dilly Deli and Local 127. It includes smoked wings, hand-cut fries, poutine and house-made Cincinnati chili (both regular and vegan). Sunday brunch will also be offered.

Seating for about 100 people is at indoor booths and at the bar, and at outdoor patio tables. An upstairs room will be available for private events.

MacKenzie said the bar will offer live music on Fridays and Saturdays. There typically won't be a cover, though the setup will allow for an occasional cover charge for out-of-town bands while keeping the rest of the bar and dining areas free admission. Specialty nights, such as a free local music night and perhaps a return of Mayday's popular bingo night, are in the works.

Both partners have backgrounds in music and bars. MacKenzie is a member of the soul-rock DAAP Girls, garage rock The Lions Rampant and, with Weiner, the garage rock Cincinnati Royals; Weiner is also in pop-punk band The Dopamines.

As for their bar history, both have ties to Wellmann's Brands: Weiner was previously general manager at Japp's Since 1879; MacKenzie still does marketing and events for the group's bars, which also include The Famous Neon's Unplugged, The Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar and Myrtle's Punch House.

At Northside Yacht Club, hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday. The kitchen will be open 4-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.